Abstract
If in the past, the success of innovation was measured primarily in the economic sphere, recently the non-economic sphere has increasingly become more of a matter of corporate management and, therefore, of innovation management. Management’s acquisition of non-economic aspects has been strongly influenced by the vision of sustainable development. Sustainability is a direction of action important for innovation as well, integrating economic, social, and environmental responsibility in the management of innovation, leading to sustainability-oriented innovation (SOI). Research on SOI approached innovation processes has been carried out in large companies, however in recent years the use of TRIZ (teoriya resheniya izobretatelskikh zadach) tools has been tried for SOI. The TRIZ-based approach is a valuable tool because it does not require an encyclopedic knowledge of field-specific technology and it enables the expansion of the scope of problem solutions beyond the skills of the team members. This paper discusses the concepts of sustainability, innovation, and risk management in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for the purpose of developing a flow chart for the implementation of the TRIZ method in SMEs and for evaluating the state of innovation in such companies. Through the use of the TRIZ method in the field of SMEs, fast and efficient processes, products, and sustainable services have been obtained.
Highlights
It is widely recognized that innovation is essential for companies that want to remain competitive and to compete successfully in the markets and the changing environment [1,2,3].If in the past, the success of innovation was measured primarily in the economic sphere, recently, the non-economic sphere has increasingly become more a part of corporate management and, one of innovation management [1,2,3,4,5]
The TRIZ-based approach is a valuable tool because it does not require an encyclopedic knowledge of field-specific technology and it enables the expansion of the scope of problem solutions beyond the skills of the team members
Based on the concepts of sustainable development and investigating the use of TRIZ tools in cleaner production this paper shows how the implementation of the TRIZ method leads to significant results within a company
Summary
It is widely recognized that innovation is essential for companies that want to remain competitive and to compete successfully in the markets and the changing environment [1,2,3]. Starting from the year 2000, some companies have measured the results of innovation in relation to environmental criteria [3]. As a result of uncertainty about what “environmental” means in practice, it is difficult to formulate environmental success criteria for innovation projects [3,4]. Since 1990, the TRIZ method has been applied in many multi-national, innovative companies, such as Samsung, Hitachi, Siemens, and 3M These companies have started to report significant success in implementation of this method. Based on the concepts of sustainable development and investigating the use of TRIZ tools in cleaner production this paper shows how the implementation of the TRIZ method leads to significant results within a company. Sustainability 2017, 9, 1125 framework of these concepts, the Sustainability Innovation Parallelepiped model, and the results of the case study following the application of the TRIZ method
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